Why I respect Atheists.

One of the differences between those of faith and atheists is the perception of life and of life after we shuffle off this mortal coil. Atheists, generally seem to believe that we die and that is it; there is no dread hereafter or reward of eternal bliss. Thus, this is it! Some atheists that I have talked with and listened to make this comment; this is not a dress rehearsal. 

            I think the danger for those of us of faith, is that we tend to miss the sanctity of human life, and in doing so tolerate the intolerable. There is this idea that if this life sucks the next life might be better. That being the case, there is less urgency seen in people’s circumstances. I have had a career of serving those marginalized by our society. I was always amazed by how callous we could be regarding these people. Far too often, people would assume that those who were drug addicted, street entrenched, criminally involved, and otherwise on the fringes of our society were the authors of their own misfortune. This included the adolescents I cared for who were trafficked for sexual purposes, many of them still children when it started.

            If all we have is the time between taking our first breath and our last, this is intolerable. If this is our only shot at existence, we cannot tolerate the abuse we heap on each other. To this end I would include animals. There are some that hold that they are lesser beings, that they don’t suffer the same way we do. They have yet to see the sadness in my cat when he knows I am going away. In our claim that we have a divine nature, we forget that the story of our origin is that we came from mud. We might not be that special. 

            Despite this, I am not moving towards atheism. There are many atheists for whom I have more than just a begrudging respect. Often, I think that they might even be prophetic, they speak truth to power, and reason to our faith. This is the one point I have to admire. Yet, it is within my faith that I also see this sentiment.

          In the Goat Herder’s Guide, Jesus makes the following statement, “Whatever you do to those who you consider as being the least, you have done to me.” (Paraphrased) I need to be mindful that I cannot be dismissive of the plight of others. I cannot simply walk by and hope for a better day. In the words of Jimmy Carter, “I have one life to live, and one chance to make it count for something… My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”

Anyway, that is my opinion